Govt College, Ibadan alumni seek ownership of alma mater

Only Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the administration of Government College, Ibadan (GCI) will revive the fortunes of the school, old boys of the school have said.

They are appealing to the Oyo State government to allow them partner in the funding and management of the school that has produced many prominent Nigerians.

During the yearly luncheon and merit award of the GCI Old Boys Association in Lagos, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Oladipo Akinkugbe, former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, and a former Chairman of Committee of Pro-Chancellors, Dr. Wale Babalakin argued that the only option for government is to return public schools to private bodies to raise the fallen standards.

He observed that pass rate in secondary schools has nose-dived to less than 10 per cent. He also decried the state of the age-old GCI where a teacher now handles 300 students.

He added: “The incursion of government into the area of ownership of schools has further complicated an already parlous state of affairs. Voluntary agencies had been the fore-runners of secondary education for over a century and the extent of government participation had been limited to regulating and monitoring through inspectorate divisions or ministries.

“The best option is joint ownership by government and old boys in the spirit of public private partnership.”

Babalakin, who is the Chairman of the GCI Old Boys Association (Lagos Branch), praised the state government for its efforts, adding that the college needed far more assistance to get back to shape.

He said: “The old boys continue to strive valiantly to uphold the school and its ideals 35 years after the unfortunate exercise by various governments that led to the down grading of many secondary schools including our great school.

“The policy of the government in 1979 which turned the exclusive territory of Government College, Ibadan to the domain of other secondary schools, including Apata Ganga High School and the near eradication of merit as a criterion for entry into the school was an unpardonable assault on quality education in Nigeria. “